BSCFA scores major court victory over Fairtrade premium payments

The Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association, BSCFA, has scored a major legal victory in the Court of Appeal after the court dismissed an appeal brought by Tate and Lyle Sugars Limited in a dispute involving millions of dollars in Fairtrade premium payments. In a judgment delivered today, the Court of Appeal upheld an earlier High Court ruling that allowed the BSCFA’s claim against T&L Sugars to proceed to trial. The appeal stemmed from T&L’s attempt to have the claim struck out and to challenge the Belize court’s jurisdiction over the matter.  The dispute centers on Fairtrade premium payments that the BSCFA says are owed to cane farmers for the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 crop years. The association is seeking damages and an accounting of premiums it alleges were improperly withheld. It also claims that T&L Sugars and Belize Sugar Industries, BSI, engaged in an unlawful conspiracy that resulted in financial losses to farmers.  T&L Sugars argued that any dispute should be governed by a previous Letter of Enhancement Agreement, which contained an arbitration clause requiring disputes to be settled outside Belize. However, the Court of Appeal found that the agreement had expired before the period covered by the claim and that there was no evidence the arbitration clause survived beyond the life of that contract.  Justice of Appeal Sandra Minott-Phillips, writing for the court, concluded that there are real issues between the parties that should be determined at trial and that the BSCFA’s claims based on conspiracy and constructive trust are not frivolous. The court further ruled that permission granted to serve T&L outside Belize was proper and that there was no material non-disclosure by the BSCFA when it sought that order.  In dismissing the appeal, the Court of Appeal ordered that proceedings in the substantive claim can now resume in the High Court. The stay, previously imposed on the matter, has been lifted, and T&L has been given forty-two days from today’s ruling to file its defense. Costs of the appeal were awarded to the BSCFA.  The ruling clears the way for a full trial of the long-running dispute, which could have significant implications for the distribution of Fairtrade premiums within Belize’s sugar industry.